Pets Are Victims of Foreclosure Too!

The foreclosure rate in the United States is on the rise and you really wouldn't think cats and dogs (as well as other pets) would become victims. A quick glance at the evening news cast tells us we are living in a country with a shaky economy. How many homes have been foreclosed on because of the adjustable-rate mortgage disaster? I personally am not sure of the running total, but I know it has to be very high.

When a house is foreclosed on, the owners need to move out and find a new place to live. These places include apartments, condos, maybe even living with family members until they are able to get back on their feet. As many home owner's discovered, their homes were not the only things they would be losing. Many apartment complexes do not allow pets so many owners were forced to give their pets to a shelter or have them stay at a friend or family members home.

This has got to be an incredibly hard decision, and some owners are turning their pets over to uncertain fates. Some shelters euthanize animals if they are not adopted in a certain amount of time, or if they are running out of room. On Saturday January 26, one California shelter reported 33 dogs coming in. That is only one day! You could imagine how quickly shelters across the country are filling up!

Some people even leave their pets behind in their abandoned homes to fend for themselves. These pets usually end up at shelters or at animal control facilities where their fate is incredibly iffy. It is especially hard for some owners who have no choice but to try and find homes for their animals.

One story involves a woman in California who is selling her home. She found a new place to rent, but is not allowed to bring her two dogs with her. While the house is in limbo (not transferred to the new owner) the dogs are staying at the house and she makes daily visits to see them, give them love, and walk them. Mother and daughter are making trips to a local adoption fair with the animals in an attempt to get them adopted before their house is sold. When talking about the emotional trauma involved and the strain on her, she had this to say:

"It's awful. The first time they went, we cried the whole afternoon. We love those dogs."

How many of you out there are faced with this decision, is your home being foreclosed? Have you had to give up your pets because of a foreclosure? This is a wide-spread problem and one that experts agree will continue to rise. It is not going away anytime soon, and as shelters fill up across the country, dogs and cats are running out of places to stay.

For more information on this topic, please check out the following articles:

Los Angeles Times

USA Today

WESH.com